His son does some great beer commercials too.
There was a long and controversial thread on that subject some months ago.
Gist of it is, the idea that the conquest of Iwo Jima meant the difference between every one member of those bomber crews living or dying is patently ridiculous.
In any rational analysis more Americans died taking the island than aircrew saved by having the island.
That's a good report. Thanks.
Sounds like he's doing the right thing.
Sadly, I don't think his desire for peace will overcome where I think China is ultimately headed.
Considering Japan's past, I appreciate their attempts to avoid participation in war efforts.
Most of the planes which landed on Iwo were performing training missions.
Also, the re-raising of the flag was not the moment of conquest, as shown by the death in later fighting of several of the Marines and Navy Corpsman who re-raised the flag.
The Army fought on long after that flag raising. The Marines were crucial in the initial landing, and then, what was left of them were switched over to Mt. Suribachi.
The soldiers, corpsmen and Marines were fighting without the knowledge of the Atomic Bomb. For all they knew, we would have to continue on to take over the entire Japanese Islands. Iwo Jima was their task, for that moment, and they, if they thought about it, would look forward to many other such tasks.
The Japanese also didn't expect the war to end soon. They intended to continue to fight, and were willing to spend 30 million casualties if they could inflict 1,000,000 US casualties. Their goal was a negotiated treaty. The US was reading the Imperial Japanese diplomatic codes pretty regularly, reporting the information gained as "MAGIC".
"From now on, too, we must never forget the tragic lessons of war. We must progress towards friendly relations between nations and must actively strive to create lasting world peace."
Actually, it's "the tragic lessons of peace", but nevertheless, and regardless of motives, he is doing the right thing.
Iwo Jima beachead looking toward Mt. Suribachi. February 1945
Fifth Marines break for religious services on Iwo Jima. (Sgt. L. R. Burmeister)
Japan * ping * (kono risuto ni hairitai ka detai wo shirasete kudasai : let me know if you want on or off this list)
